Most people associate D-Day with one beach, Omaha Beach. Of the two landing beaches the American army would have to take, Utah and Omaha, the last sector was the most difficult and had the most casualties on June 6th of all the landing beaches. Below you can make a tour from Colleville-sur-Mer to Grandcamp-Maisy.
Sector 'Easy en Fox'
Wn 62, Colleville-sur-Mer (east of the American National
Cemetery) .
The German complex, Wiederstandsnest 62 (Wn 62) in the sector 'Fox-Green', was on the 6th of June a very hard cookie to crack. The guns were aimed straight at Omaha Beach. Today the place is virtual the same as sixty years ago, even the shape of the trenches that connected the strong points can still be seen in the grass. It took the American forces halfway up the morning before this complex was taken. The two main guns in this battery were placed in bunkers of the type H669, and can be find in the dunes, below the complex.
The lowest bunker H669 of Wn 62
On top of the highest bunker stands a monument as a reminder for the men of the 5th Engineer Brigade. Another monument, a big spike, is placed here as a remembrance for the lost men of the 1st Infantry Division (Big Red One), see picture below.
NORMANDY AMERICAN NATIONAL CEMETERY &
MEMORIAL
Between Colleville-sur-Mer and St-Laurent-sur-Mer, from the D541 turn to N814.
After Colleville-sur-Mer it is just around the corner to the Normandy American Cemetery & Memorial. This impressive cemetery contains 9.286 American graves, among them 307 unknown. Fallen soldiers with the Congressional Medal
of Honor bear their names in gold on the crosses. The motion picture 'Saving Private Ryan' starts on this cemetery. You don’t have to look for the resting place of Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks), his part was fictional and there is no grave. The most famous buried American must be Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt (son of President "Teddy") on Plot D, Row 28, Grave 45 (12 July, 1944, he suffered a hart attack in a orchard near Carentan at the age of 57). Next to him lies his brother Quentin, a pilot from the 1st World War who died on July 14th, 1918. There are 32 ‘couples’ brothers and a father and a son (Col. Ollie Reed en Ollie Jr.) on Plot E, Row 20, Grave 19. 14.000 killed American soldiers were shipped back to the United States.
 
MEMORIAL:
On both sides of the memorial are large war maps in coloured enamel. Flanked by two bronze urns stands the statue 'The Spirit of American Youth Rising From the Waves', by Donald de Lue from New York.
Behind the 'Memorial' you will find the 'Garden of the Missing' with the names of 1557 missing men.
From here a path runs down to the beach with an explanation on boards about the landing beaches. The path ends on the sector ‘Easy Red’. If you follow the path, beware that it is quit a climb back to the top.
Medal of
Honor
There are three graves containing soldiers with the Congressional Medal of Honor. As mentioned before, Roosevelt is one of them, another is Frank D. Peregory and First Lieutenant Jimmie W. Monteith. The last one came ashore during D-Day near Colleville-sur-Mer under heavy German fire. Without any regards for his own safety he guided his men to the top of the cliff.
 
1st Lt.
Jimmie Walter Monteith, Jr., right the Medal of
Honor
Monteith spotted two tanks, which were on the wrong place to give effective fire. He went through a minefield en led them to a better spot. After a short while, a couple of strongholds were put out of action by these tanks. Monteith went back to his troops and began organizing the defense. Under enemy fire, he repeatedly ran across open fields of 2 to 300 meters. When he and his men were surrounded, he tried to lead his men from this situation. Unfortunately, Lt Monteith was killed. His leadership earned him his Medal of Honor. His grave is in sector I, Row 20, grave 12.
More on OMAHA BEACH, particular Vierville, Point du Hoc and Grandcamp-Maisy 'CLICK HERE' !
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